Latest news with #WSLFootball
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Seven WSL clubs join trial allowing alcohol in stands
Seven Women's Super League clubs have joined a trial that will allow supporters to drink alcohol in the stands during the 2025-26 season. Last season's top four - champions Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United - are among the clubs who will take part. It follows an initial trial last term at four clubs in the second tier - rebranded as WSL2 this season - that offered fans the opportunity to consume alcohol while watching the match. League operator WSL Football said the trial was a success, with 66% of the 51,000 spectators that took part supporting the idea. Holly Murdoch, the chief operating officer for WSL Football, said the expansion was "part of our strategy to offer a best-in-class experience". WSL Football said there were no reported safety incidents from last season's trial and that match officials noted 'no change to fan behaviour' during the trial. While consumption of alcohol within view of the pitch is allowed in the women's professional game, it is banned in men's professional football in the UK. "We support that process and there's no reason such research couldn't be extended across the men's game too," Football Supporters' Association chair Tom Greatrex said. "Of course not every supporter wants a pint in the stands - but we don't believe those who do should be criminalised either." Teams participating in the expanded trial WSL teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, London City Lionesses, Manchester City, Manchester United WSL2 teams: Birmingham City, Bristol City, Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Sunderland, Southampton Head here to get involved Get the latest WSL news on our dedicated page
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Big clubs join WSL trial allowing alcohol in stands
Many of the biggest clubs in the Women's Super League have joined a trial that will allow supporters to drink alcohol in the stands during the 2025-26 season's top four - champions Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United - are among the seven WSL clubs who have joined the follows an initial trial last term at four clubs in the second tier - rebranded as WSL2 this season - that offered fans the opportunity to consume alcohol while watching the match. League operator WSL Football said the trial was a success, with 66% of the 51,000 spectators that took part supporting the Murdoch, the chief operating officer for WSL Football, said the expansion was "part of our strategy to offer a best-in-class experience". WSL Football said there were no reported safety incidents from last season's trial and that match officials noted 'no change to fan behaviour' during the trial. While consumption of alcohol within view of the pitch is allowed in the women's professional game, it is banned in men's professional football in the UK. "We support that process and there's no reason such research couldn't be extended across the men's game too," Football Supporters' Association chair Tom Greatrex said. "Of course not every supporter wants a pint in the stands - but we don't believe those who do should be criminalised either." Teams participating in the expanded trial WSL teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, London City Lionesses, Manchester City, Manchester UnitedWSL2 teams: Birmingham City, Bristol City, Crystal Palace, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Sunderland, Southampton Head here to get involved
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New season, new structure: FA WSL expansion approved
The FA Women's Super League is set to expand to 14 teams from the 2026/27 season, following a shareholder vote conducted by WSL Football, the organisation responsible for managing the WSL and Championship. The changes still require ratification by the FA Board. Photo byA new promotion and relegation mechanism will come into effect across the top three tiers of women's football in England from the end of the 2026/27 season. Under the revised system, the team finishing bottom of the WSL will be relegated automatically, while the Championship winner will be promoted. The second-from-bottom WSL side will face a play-off against the Championship runners-up. Advertisement The situation below that remains more fluid. The FA is still to confirm whether the current two-up, two-down system between the Championship and the FA Women's National League will continue. Presently, the bottom two sides in the Championship drop to the third tier, but this could be reviewed in light of the broader changes. Importantly, the Championship will remain a 12-team division. Only the WSL will expand, meaning transitional changes will take place at the end of the 2025/26 season. Either zero or one team will be relegated from the WSL, with two or three promoted from the Championship to bring the top flight to 14 clubs. The top two Championship teams will be promoted automatically, while the third-placed side will play off against the WSL's bottom club for a potential spot. That raises the possibility of no relegation from the WSL in 2025/26, should the bottom-placed club win their play-off. UEFA Women's Champions League qualification will remain unchanged. As England finished the 2024/25 season ranked as the top association, the WSL champions and runners-up in 2025/26 will both qualify directly for the group stage of the 2026/27 UEFA WCL. The third-placed club will enter in Round 3 of qualifying. Advertisement While the expansion is broadly welcomed, the 2026/27 season will pose significant scheduling challenges. The addition of four extra league games will place further strain on an already crowded calendar. With the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 scheduled to begin on 24 June, and clubs also competing in the FA Women's Cup, the Continental Tyres League Cup, and an expanded UWCL format, fixture congestion is likely to intensify. As FIFPRO continues to raise concerns about player workload and the rise in injuries, the demands of a longer domestic season may heighten risks for elite players.
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Women's Super League set to expand from 12 to 14 teams
The Women's Super League (WSL) will be expanding from 12 teams to 14 from the start of the 2026-27 season, it's been announced. Currently the bottom WSL club are relegated and the WSL 2 winners are promoted but that is going to new rules aim to grow the league by allowing two extra teams to get complicated! But read on to find out more. How will it work next season in the WSL? Here's how the expansion will happen at the end of the next season - top two teams from the second tier, known as WSL 2, will automatically be promoted as part of the expansion. Also, the team that comes bottom of the WSL and the team that comes third in the WSL 2 will play each other, with the winner getting the final spot in the top league What will happen for the 2026-2027 WSL season? Once next season is over and the expansion is done, things will change again for the 2026-2027 you would expect, the WSL team that comes in last place will be automatically relegated and the team that comes top of the WSL 2 will be automatically promoted. But - there will one other big change. There will be a play-off match between the the WSL team in 13th position (second to bottom) and the team that comes second in the WSL 2. The winner of this match will then play in the WSL in 2027-2028. Nikki Doucet the boss of WSL Football said: "Over the past few months, WSL Football has led a thorough and robust, consultative process backed by research and analysis which explored multiple options that could drive the game forward and help it reach its potential," She said the changes would "stimulate movement between leagues" and "increase opportunities".The Football Association (FA) will now need to formally approve the proposed changes for the 2026-27 season by the 31 July 2025 before they can be officially introduced and before the next season starts.
RTÉ News
17-06-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Women's Super League expanding to 14 teams from 2026
The English Women's Super League is set expand to 14 teams from the start of the 2026-27 season, with a promotion and relegation play-off to be introduced. A proposal put forward by Nikki Doucet, chief executive of Women's Professional Leagues Limited, was voted through at Monday's WSL Football shareholders meeting. It requires the approval of the Football Association board but, if it gets the green light, 14 teams will compete in the women's top flight from next year and the 2025-26 campaign will conclude with a relegation/promotion play-off. "Over the past few months, WSL Football has led a thorough and robust, consultative process backed by research and analysis which explored multiple options that could drive the game forward and help it reach its potential," Doucet said. "Our priority was to find a route that would benefit the whole women's game pyramid, and we believe this next evolution of women's professional football will raise minimum standards, create distinction and incentivise investment across the board. "Subject to the approval from the FA board, expanding the BWSL to 14 teams will stimulate movement between leagues and through the pyramid which increases opportunities. "The introduction of a promotion/relegation play-off creates distinction for the women's game and introduces a high-profile, high-stakes match." If the expansion from a 12-team WSL to 14 gets FA approval, it offers three Women's Championship clubs the chance to gain promotion during the 2025-26 campaign. The top two of the Championship will go up automatically and the third-placed side will take on the team which finished bottom of the WSL in a play-off. The Championship will continue as a 12-team league with "additional promotion opportunities" from the FA Women's National League Northern and Southern Premier Divisions at the end of the 2025-26 campaign. "The method for these promotions, and any impact further down the pyramid, will be confirmed by The FA in due course," a WSL Football statement read. It means from the 2026-27 season, the 14th-placed team would be relegated and replaced by the winner of the Championship. A relegation/promotion play-off between the 13th-placed club in the WSL and Championship runner-up would then determine the final place in the top-flight. There were 14 Republic of Ireland internationals with WSL clubs last season and 24 in the Championship. Meanwhile, women's football is set to become one of the world's top five sports by 2030, according to a report by Nielsen Sports (in collaboration with PepsiCo), with a global fan base projected to grow by 38% to reach more than 800 million people. Some 60% of those fans are projected to be women, according to their report 'Undervalued to Unstoppable' released on Tuesday, creating one of the few sports which is followed by more females than males. The global broadcast audience is also expected to rise by 30% across major tournaments by 2030. While sponsorship deals tripled for the 2023 Women's World Cup from the 2019 tournament, only a small fraction of global sponsorship budgets are allocated to women's football, according to the study. It presents a significant opportunity, the researchers argued, considering women are projected to drive over 75% of household purchasing decisions by 2028. Women's football is already one of the top 10 most followed sports globally, and momentum appears to be building. Viewership of the U.S.-based National Women's Soccer League championship last year had an 18% increase over the previous year. Disney+ announced last month a deal to broadcast Women's Champions League matches across Europe, while Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and husband of tennis great Serena Williams, acquired a stake in Women's Super League champions Chelsea that same month. Deloitte recently reported that WSL revenues climbed by 34% during a record-breaking 2023-24 season, and are forecasting WSL clubs' total revenue will reach a record £100 million pounds (€117 million) in the 2025-26 season. WSL attendance, however, has dropped after it peaked in 2023-24 on the heels of the 2023 Women's World Cup, but is expected to have another rise after the European Championship next month in Switzerland.
